Israeli man to give birth

In the movie 1994 film “Junior,” a scientist played by pre-“governator” Arnold Schwarzenegger agrees to carry a pregnancy in his own body. While that comedy was pure fantasy, in Israel the same scenario is playing out…and this time it’s real.

Yediot Ahronot reported earlier this week that a 24-year-old man walked into an emergency room in central Israel and informed doctors that he was in his seventh month of pregnancy.

No, Israeli scientists are not playing around with some experimental treatment as with the Danny Devito character in Junior. The man in question was born as a woman. He went through a sex change operation several years ago, removing his breasts and taking hormones to create a more male appearance (he apparently was sporting a goatee).

But, in an unusual move, the man (who asked that his identity remain secret) left his sexual organs intact (most transgender men undergo surgery to construct a penis). That enabled his surprising pregnancy.

Yediot reported that in Israel, one out of every 400,000 women seeks to become a man. This, however, is the first reported pregnancy. The doctors in the emergency room, by the way, released the patient, ruling that the pregnancy is proceeding as planned.

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Brian has been a journalist and high-tech entrepreneur for over 20 years. He combines this expertise for ISRAEL21c and Israelity as he writes about hot new local startups, pharmaceutical advances, scientific discoveries, culture, the arts and daily life in Israel. He loves hiking the country with his family (and blogging about it). Originally from California, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three children.